Death

It's really ironic. The last time I went to the commonwealth War Memorial was nearly 10 years ago. Of course, nobody normally visits burial grounds (even though Labuan is small and "boring"). But since Thomas and Man Keat came last week, I took them to all the tourist spots in Labuan. And the war memorial.

It has not been corrupted by the erosion of time. It's still quiet, peaceful with rows and rows of white stones marking the passing of lives. I told myself that I must come once again before I leave for KL.

I went today, on the eve of leaving. In retrospect, it seemed really weird. Because I went alone, at 2.30 p.m. in the hot afternoon sun, and nobody was there at all. I think the drivers in cars passing the memorial must have thought I was crazy to be wandering around a burial ground, alone, while being burnt by the sun.

Okay, maybe I am crazy. But I really wanted to walk and read the words on tombstones that craved the names of fallen soldiers from distant lands, UK, Australia.
Their ages, their ranks, their nationalities.
Most of all, the words that summed up their lives
Just a single sentence for each soldier that represented all he lived and died for, etched below his date of existence to his date of slumber.

Among those I found most profound:
"Into the mosaic of victory was laid this precious piece. Thy will O Lord, not mine"
A wife's words "To the world he was just one. To me, all the world"
"Let those who come after see to it. That his name be not forgotten"
Parents from Scotland "Though you lie in a distant land, one day we'll be reunited again"
"Death divides us. But sweet memories cling on"
"To be with Christ, which is far better"
And my favorite "He hath done what he could"

Crazy Sarah. Thinking about death. Visiting graveyards alone.
But truth is, aren't we all dying? As we live each day?

Maybe I was feeling kind of depressed, knowing that I have to leave and go back. Maybe I was a little disillusioned with everything I am doing.
Yet, being there today, reading the marks of men who died fighting in a land foreign to them, for a cause they believed in reminded me about perspective.

One life to live. That's all. My life may not be significant. But I want to live for You the best I can. So that I can meet You one day and say "I've done what I could"

(Btw, I'm okay. I guess my hyper mode is temporarily off, while my serious mode is on. But yea, still scandalously alive and crazy)